Not Even Time
by Retta96
Summary: Note: So far this is an experimental concept. A/U Legolas has watched the rise and fall of his world over centuries but has yet to find the one thing he really wants. But what happens when a girl in a bar completely turns his life around? Rated M because I don't exactly know where this story is going and what will happen with it in the future soooo just in case!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: No flames please. I know that this goes completely against the books but that is why it is A/U. All characters from the actual LOTR are not mine and I take no claim to them, they are Tolkein's work and he has definitely earned all credit for them. The rest of the characters are mine though aaannnddd I am still debating whether or not to continue with this story so if you like this give me some love and review so I know whether or not to keep with it! Please and thank you!

Not Even Time...

**Chapter 1**

**He** sat at the bar, gazing off into space and zoning out with his eyes focused at a particularly boring patch on the white washed wall. It was his typical Saturday night, just him and the glasses of wine that Reinin kept coming from behind the counter. Was the wine good? Not exactly, but it was the closest he had come to Dorwinian wine in centuries.

He had become so focused on his thoughts and his little spot on the wall that he hadn't even noticed the fiery red head that had perched herself on the seat beside him and was playing every card she could think of to try and get his attention. She had just reached out a hand that she fully intended to place a little higher up on his thigh than propriety called for when a strong grasp locked onto her wrist and slowly pulled her hand back.

"Trust me...you don't wanna touch him when he's zoned out like that," the owner of the hand currently holding her wrist warned. "I think he may have PTSD or something like that cause he'll totally flip and lose his shit if ya do," he cautioned again before releasing her wrist and shaking her hand gently. "The name's Reinin," he said softly, his voice drawling ever so slightly with his southern twang, "now, how about you let me make you a drink on the house for your troubles, I reckon I might'a startled you a bit grabbin' you like that, I apologize. I'm just looking out for my friend here," he nearly sang the words as he gifted her with a dazzling smile.

"Your who?" she asked, lost in the hunter green of his eyes and the gentle slope of his cheekbones that peeked out from under his shaggy dark brown hair. An amused grin spread over his face as he nodded in the direction of the blonde guy with the braids she had been hitting on and her faced flushed, "Oh yeah, your friend. Th-the one with the PTSD, right, I almost forgot about him" she stammered out trying to regain the feline confidence and prowess that she usually possessed when trying to pick up guys at the local hot spots, but she kept getting lost in how impossibly smooth his pale skin looked, if she hadn't known better she might have even gone so far as to think he was made of glass.

Reinin knew he had her now. She was so caught up in checking him out that she had forgotten all about Legolas blowing her off for a wall, he thought to himself and tried not to chuckle at the sheer hilarity of the thought. He'd chosen to go for a southern accent and she was just drinking it up. Normally he would have let her continue her advances towards Legolas, she was attractive enough with her long fire engine red hair and blue eyes. It would have been fun to watch Legolas turn red and try to fend her off without causing a scene, but even Reinen knew better than to let anyone touch him when he was zoning. That always spelled disaster for everyone involved...especially Reinen. And tonight he didn't feel like putting his bar or his ass on the line so he'd stopped her.

All too easy, he thought with a sly grin as the girl, Bridgette...or maybe it was Briane, walked back to the dance floor leaving her number behind on the napkin under her now empty glass. Legolas sure as hell owed him for this one, she was a feisty one. One who would likely actually expect him to call and Reinin couldn't help but smirk at the thought. The poor girl had actually thought he had taken an interest in her. No sir. While Reinin had enjoyed her company while Legolas was out of commission, she had been a distraction and nothing more. A sexy distraction in her short dress and knee high boots, but purely a distraction none the less.

Reinin turned his attention back towards Legolas in the hopes that maybe he had snapped out of it and come to, but he frowned when he saw that tonight was going to be one of _those_ nights. Chances are Legolas would be staring at the wall until closing time. Now he almost wished he had at least tried to take Bridgette/Briane seriously. He let out a deep sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his lungs as he topped off the half empty wine glass that sat before his friend. With any luck he might come to with no problems, Reinin thought to himself. "No broken glasses would be nice," he muttered under his breath as he walked the length of the bar to take the order of a young man and his friends, already plastered, who seemed to be out celebrating his twenty first birthday. "If only I could be so lucky".

**Life** as an Eliel was not easy. As a pure blooded elf Legolas had seen it all. The rise and fall of kingdoms, of civilizations. The disappearance and creation of races. Life, death, anger, pain, sadness and most of all loneliness. He had felt the effects of them all. The one thing he had seen throughout the centuries, but had never managed to find for himself despite how desperately he craved it, was love. The one thing he wanted above all else...but would never come to him. Legolas tried to force his mind away from the pitiful thoughts of that which he had come to believe to be nothing more than a hoax, a sham.

He didn't mind getting lost in his thoughts, in fact, he rather enjoyed it most of the time. It was much better than dealing with all of the women who tried to get his attention here at the bar. Legolas was interested in love. Someone to bind himself to and spend the rest of their days together. He was sick of an eternity alone, he wanted someone to love and to call his own, even if it meant he would eventually fade and die with their passing. He didn't care if he only got to spend a day with her, he just wanted to meet her. No matter what Reinin said, no matter how much he teased him for "sounding like a chick", he wanted real love—and he highly doubted he was going to find it in a bar. Bars were where people came to get wasted and find a hook up, so the girls who hung around here weren't even worth his time. If they were hanging around bars they weren't interested in love, so he had no interest in them either. But it still amused Reinin to watch him get flustered by their attempted advances on him and so, for Reinin's enjoyment, Legolas continued to come around and keep him company.

After all, he couldn't very well abandon his best friend for the sake of avoiding his own embarrassment. Well, he could... and really he probably should, but then what kind of friend would he be? Plus, how would Reinin and he ever find such outlandish stories? So he continued to frequent the Old Oak, making regular appearances to the pleasure of not only Reinin, but all of the females present.

He turned his thoughts once more to that single thread of hope he held for love. The thread he felt ready to snap any moment and leave him hopeless all together. He should have sailed to the Undying Lands long ago, but he had remained. Waiting for the Valar to bring about that which they had in store for him. Obviously the Valar still had something planned, if not he would have aged some by now. Instead he looked the same as he had when the War of the Ring had taken place all those centuries ago. Back when Middle Earth was still a place, not just words on a page in what was considered a tale of fiction.

With that Legolas felt his thoughts shifting once more, like the sands of time themselves. These were the thoughts he hated above all else and he groaned inwardly knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop them from coming now. His thoughts had turned to his past, to the life he had led leading up to this moment sitting here in the Old Oak pub, to the world he had once known so very long ago...

After the War of the Ring had ended there was peace in the land, and for that Legolas was truly grateful. But eventually all good things must come to an end and, with Aragorn's death centuries later, they did. Men had a funny way of fighting over the silliest of things. Aragorn had been the only man he had ever known to have a truly good head on his shoulders.

The peace of Middle Earth had ended over a rumor. And not even a good one at that! The rumor had been so impossibly false that the fact that the successor to the kingdom of Gondor had gone to war over it still astounded Legolas all these years later. The king of Rohan at the time had heard that his runaway of a son had found refuge in the kingdom of Gondor and had become _very_ well acquainted with the Gondorian Princess, taking her upon the forest floor.

When this folly fell upon the king's ears he had vowed to put an end to the kingdom of Rohan for the defiling of his daughter. Legolas smirked as he remembered the day that news of this war had reached Mirkwood. None in Mirkwood would believe this tale because they all knew that the king of Gondor had long since kept his daughter locked away in the castle for the sake of protecting her purity, he being the ridiculously over protective man that he was. She had never even been allowed to leave the walls of that palace, hardly even allowed to see the light of day...and yet the king dared to believe that she had been taken on the forest floor outside the confines of the fortress in which he held her captive.

What had added to the hilarity of the tale as it spread amongst the elves was the fact that the prince had sought refuge with them in Mirkwood and was not even in the vicinity or either kingdom! The elves had even tried to tell the kings, but neither would listen once war had been declared, and so the woodland elves had watched rather helplessly, and if he was completely honest with himself, rather amused, as the world of men erupted once more into war...all for the sake of words bred in idleness.

Legolas smiled to himself. As sad as it was that this was how men had begun the decimation of the world he loved, he still couldn't help but feel amused at their sheer ignorance and pride...and he was an elf! And a son of Thranduil nonetheless! He knew all about pride! A chuckle escaped his lips at the thought as he continued his staring match with the wall, still lost in his thoughts of the ever changing world around him, the world now simply known as Earth.

Middle Earth had become nothing more than a memory that existed amongst the few remaining Eli-bred. The pure blooded elves of the Eliel were a dying race, as were the Elidwa. Pure blooded dwarves were among the rarest of races to come across, only surpassed in their rarity by orcs and hobbits, neither of which had been seen in centuries. The orcs being believed to have all been wiped out, while the hobbits, on the other hand, were believed to be hiding out in what was called Antarctica. The Middle-Earthians that remained all shared the common belief that Antarctica was being covered by a magic spell that was cast by the last of the Istari, it made the land appear barren and as a wasteland of ice, when in reality its beauty and quaintness reflected that of the shire. The hobbits eternal gift for the sacrifice that their race had made in Frodo bearing the ring, done so at the request of Gandalf the White who had loved him so.

The idea had often intrigued Legolas and he debated maybe heading that way eventually to look into this "common knowledge" amongst his kindred spirits. However, that would be an adventure for another time. His current adventure was finding his way back to the present through the sea of thoughts that bombarded his mind like the relentless waves upon the sand. The only person who even remotely understood what he was going through was Reinin. His only Eliel friend, his only friend at all really...and the only one with whom he could share his heartache for the Middle Earth he had known...

**After** the race of man began to spill the blood of their kin once more, his home had changed far more than he ever could have imagined. Than anyone could have ever imagined. The history books had it all wrong...things were out of order, things were missing and inaccurate, pieces of history lost forever at the hands of those who simply did not care to remember it for what it had truly been. And the saddest part was that the only people who really knew what had happened were forced into hiding.

Aragorn and Arwen's inter-race love had been a milestone in Middle Earth. Yes those of different races had fallen in love before, but never had it been so widely accepted as it was when the king of men had married his elven bride. And the fact that the War of the Ring had brought all of the races closer as both allies and friends had helped as well to aid in this acceptance. But as dwarves and elves continued to fall in love with the world of men, their blood was tainted. The world of men had eventually overpowered almost all traces of the races that had once been. The traits which had distinguished them from the other races were so dominant that after a mere few generations had passed it had become nearly impossible to tell anyone's bloodline and lineage. The Semi-races had been born, holding only a few tells as to which race they had originally come from.

Race had not been important for a long time. In fact, for the most part it was irrelevant, it played no major role seeing as the blood of the Semiel and Semidwa was diluted to the point that they lived the normal lives of men. The once great elves had lost their immortality by mixing their blood with that of men. True there were still a few that lived to see exceptional age, but they just wrote it off as being healthy or having good genetics, celebrating this as if it were some accomplishment to live to the age of one hundred and ten. By this point Legolas was nearly two millennia old. The remaining Eliel had all been alive for millennia, but they knew better than to advertize this.

The world of men had lost all touch with where they had come from, writing off their Middle-Earthian history as a piece of brilliant writing by the author J.R.R Tolkien. Legolas couldn't help but wonder what they would do if they knew Tolkien's true lineage. If they knew he had really been the record keeper to the kingdom of Mirkwood and had written _The Lord of the Rings _as a historical record of the War of the Ring to preserve that dark time in Middle Earth's history, before sailing to the Undying Lands alongside King Thranduil at the turn of the century. He grimaced, the corners of his mouth turning down into an almost pout as the thought that Tolkien probably would have been killed had he been found out crossed his mind.

Man no longer took very kindly to elves or dwarves. This was the exact reason why the Semi's and the remaining Eli's did not mix. The world of men was no longer aware of the existence of dwarves or elves, and those who had taken control of the lands of the Earth intended to keep the Semi-races in the dark, even if it meant killing off the last of the Eli-races. This was why the hobbits were hidden away in Antarctica, and why most of the Eliel had sailed to the Northern Arctic circle to find refuge in the Undying Lands. Not to mention the Ents who, upon the Great Divide of the Lands, that terrible and deathly era that the sorry excuses for modern history books claimed happened before the Earth was truly inhabited and referred to as the breaking up of Pangaea, had been stuck in the land now known as North America and were forced into hiding in the nations National forests to avoid being burned alive. None had moved in centuries. The world that Legolas had known was barely even mentioned in the crap history books of this modern age, misplaced on the time line and referred to ever so briefly and only as the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. At least the title Middle Ages paid some homage to the once great land of Middle Earth that had been broken apart and now existed merely as Europe across the sea.

Legolas let out another deep sigh as he rather subconsciously began to sip on his wine once more. How had this happened? He wondered to himself again. How had he come to this? With nothing and no one but Reinin left. Granted he loved Reinin like a brother, his attitude had taken a few years to adapt to as it was a quite like his own and so they had butted heads a helluva lot at first. But after a while it became nice to have someone who understood him. It became nice to have a constant friend in these ever changing and far from constant times. But this was the world they lived in now and so, with nothing else to hope for, Legolas hoped beyond hope for love.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hiya! This chapter is more about Reinin as a character so hopefully you guys don't mind, but I really wanted to show you guys more of who he is. I promise we'll get back to a greater focus on Legolas next chapter! Anywaaaaayyysss! Obligatory disclaimer! All characters from the actual LOTR are not mine and I take no claim to them, they are Tolkein's work and he has definitely earned all credit for them. The rest of the characters are mine though so if you enjoy them, or even just cause you feel like it, give me some love and leave me a review or follow the story!

**Chapter 2**

**As** Reinin finished setting Jason, as he had come to know the guy celebrating his birthday, up with another round of beers for him and his friends, he glanced to the end of the bar where he had left Legolas all night. He tried to keep the corner of his mouth from hitching up in a smile at the sight. It may have taken all night, but Legolas had snapped out of his thoughts all on his own. Reinin was always happy to see Legolas up and about; he spent too much time thinking about the past and, even worse, things he can't change. Reinin, however, had long since given up focusing on what had once been. All it did was bring him down and, as a bar owner and tender, he wasn't really allowed to be down. People come to bars to escape their problems and he was intent on helping them do that! So he simply avoided the things that would bring him down. He did his best to make his customers laugh and smile and have the best night possible. No one likes a sad bartender, he thought to himself with a sly grin, his eyes focused on Legolas as he emerged from the back hallway and made his way behind the bar.

"Leggy!" Reinin almost cheered as he clapped him on the back of his black shirt and handed him a bottle of scotch. "Nice t'see ya back amongst the land of the living partner, now hawabout ya go fill that nice miss's glass before I have to offer her a date with ya' for taking so long," he mused with a cocky grin spread across his face.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny Reinin," Legolas attempted a grimace but the corners of his mouth hopped up giving him away and a full fledged smile quickly broke the surface, bringing a whole new life to his cobalt eyes. "Well?" Reinin nudged. "Yeah, yeah, I got it," Legolas chuckled as he went to dutifully fulfill the task.

As co-owner of The Old Oak he had to suck it up and help tend the bar from time to time, even if he wasn't nearly as good as Reinin at mixing drinks…or making conversation…or pleasing the ladies; Reinin bit his lip trying to keep his thoughts from showing on his face. But as he watched Legolas smile and make small talk with the girl at the end of the bar that he had thrown him at, Reinin couldn't help but laugh. Who was he kidding? Legolas was a lady killer and one of the best bar tenders he had ever known. Funny, attractive, smart. He could be Reinin's twin if he weren't so blonde! He laughed to himself again before bouncing to the other end of the bar and dragging his friend away from Scotch-girl. "Come on Legolas, we've got a lot to do if we want to get things closed down on time tonight," he whispered as he dragged Legolas back to the other end of the bar towards a group of waiting girls, his best friend in the whole world behind him screaming and yelling 'last call', a grin he hadn't seen in days on his face, as if they were the two greatest words in the English language.

**As** he closed the door behind the last customer of the evening, Legolas let out a sigh of relief and felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Tonight had been long, but somehow he and Reinin had made it through. "Alright Rein," he hollered in the direction of the hallway, "last one's gone and the doors are locked! We are home free!" And he really meant it. Legolas felt better than he had in days, weeks even. He had struggled with his ghosts, but they had finally decided to give him reprieve. He finally felt free again. A small smile fought its way to his lips as he tied his pale locks back as he moved to wipe down the counters and tables.

"Would you believe it? Nothing got broken and it doesn't look like anyone had sex in the bathroom stalls!" Reinin called back in response. While Reinin may have sounded happy about this news, Legolas knew better. "Oh, don't even pretend that that doesn't bum you out. As much as you complain when something goes wrong here, you know you enjoy it," Legolas replied, a hint of laughter seeping into his voice. "And what happened to your deliciously sexy southern accent? Bored of it already?" he asked cocking an eyebrow and flashing a mischievous grin as he pretended to flirt with a plainly exhausted Reinin.

"Oh no you don't," Reinin grimaced," I already washed the dishes. Flattery will get you nowhere. I don't care what kind of sweet talk you use, you're still sweeping up." His lopsided, cocky grin leaped to his face, "and as for your question, yes. Southern is fun, but you know I much prefer the British one," he mused as he slipped into a perfect British accent. "Although Irish is a pretty close second," he winked as one accent seamlessly became another. Legolas couldn't help but chuckle. He loved when Reinin spoke with the different accents he had picked up over the years.

While Legolas, ever the warrior, had preferred to learn about the combat and culture of a people, Reinin had always been fascinated by the way they spoke. By the subtle differences in the way that they shaped their words that caused them to sound so unique and different when spoken out loud. He prided himself on it and loved to use his knowledge to make the ladies swoon. And just because it was fun to watch them get flustered and embarrassed, he occasionally used his talent for evil. He found it far too amusing to make the poor souls of random men feel confused about their sexuality. Those nights always proved to be interesting to say the least. He was good looking and he knew it, charming and smooth in a way that flip flopped between adorable and what could only be described as sexy by even the straightest of men, and people tended to really go for his flawless accents. Give him ten minutes alone with someone and Reinin could have them following him around like a puppy dog. And half the time it wasn't even intentional! He just had that effect on people. He was just that good. That was just who he was – a beaten down soul who tried to bring a little light to the world. And people couldn't help but love and chase after that light with the dark world waiting just outside the door.

"You still with me man?" Legolas snapped back to reality to find Reinin waving a hand a mere two inches in front of his face. He quickly swatted it away before shoving Reinin playfully, "Yeah man, I'm with ya', now can we please call it a night and go back to the apartment?" Reinin tilted his head to the side as he pretended to think the question over. "I'm not gonna take you back to my apartment on the first date," he teased, "I mean, you have to buy me dinner first. Or at least a drink or two. What kind of man do you take me for?" he joked, cocking one hip out and resting a hand lightly on top of it. "Riiiiigghhhtt," Legolas muttered, " and you call me a girl."

Reinin stuck his tongue out in mock annoyance, but it was quickly replaced by a smile as an odd sense of pride swelled in his chest at having achieved the effect he had been going for. He leaned against a chair as Legolas grabbed a bottle of wine and a couple of beers from behind the bar. "Good enough?" Legolas teased, cocking his eyebrow once more. "Meh, good enough," Reinin shrugged. "Let's just go home. I'm beat." He threw his cleaning cloth in Legolas' direction, before making his way to the hallway and opening the door to the 'closet' that lay in wait at the end of the narrow passage. As it swung open with an eerie creek Reinin climbed the stairs hidden inside, bounding up two at a time and leaving Legolas to close and lock the door behind them.

"Quick question," Legolas called from behind him, "do you even have your apartment key?" A scoff sounded in the dark, followed by a jingle, a click, and a soft light as the door at the top of the stairs swung open. "I'll take that as a yes," Legolas chuckled as Reinin hopped through the door, shoes and shirt already on their way off." I swear dude, you are getting worse every day. Not even inside the actual apartment yet and you're already half naked. I swear it's a good thing you actually care who you make your bond with, or I'm fairly certain you would be the biggest man-whore this continent had ever seen," Legolas muttered as he locked the door to the apartment and slipped off his boots. "I could never be a man-whore," Reinin choked out, his voice dripping with mock offense, "it would probably drive you insane to see me with other people, and I can't have you getting jealous now can I? You'd probably kill every last one of them with that bow of yours." Legolas rolled his eyes in reply as he crossed their small living room and entered his bedroom, opening the wine bottle with his teeth as he did so, the cork slipping out with a quiet _pop_. "Whatever you say Rein," he called back in between gulps of the sweet liquid trickling down his throat.

He sat on the edge of his bed and stared out the window at the faint lights that glowed in the distant world outside, twinkling in and out like the coals of a fire as it dies, with Reinin's footfalls, only audible because of his superior elf hearing, approaching ever closer. As Reinin came to lean against his door frame, Legolas offered a half hearted smile. "Thanks for putting up with me Rein. Sorry I was out of it most of the night." Reinin's lean body shifted away from the door as he entered into the small room Legolas called home and grabbed one of the beers resting beside him on the bed. "Not a problem Legolas. It's what I'm here for," a serious, faraway look crossed his face; a look not quite a smile and yet not quite sadness either. "We only have each other. We have to stick together. Plus, you're my brother. You always will be," he whispered, the Sindarin coming out perfectly as if he never spoke any language besides his mother tongue. The sound like music to their elvish ears; a whisper of a song long since forgotten.

"Goodnight, mellon nín," Reinin whispered, the sound barely even a breath, before exiting the tiny room and crossing the apartment to his own, taking a swig of the beer as he did so.

**As **he entered his room he couldn't help but take it all in. The walls the color of grass in spring, bright and crisp. The double bed in the corner, covered in its hunter green sheets - the same color as his eyes. The simple wood night stand beside it, cluttered with cd's and photographs of he and Legolas. A small potted plant in the corner across from the bed. He would always long for the forest, he knew that. Despite his attempts, his room would never be anything close to the forest he, as an elf of mirkwood, loved so much. He could hide his pointed ears all he wanted. He could keep his hair shaggy instead of long like Legolas'. He could use contacts to hide the light of the Eldar race that shone as golden flecks, a star field, in his eyes. He could talk the language of men and try to fit in and make them happy. He could try and try and try to look like one of them, to blend in amongst the world of men. But he would always be an Eliel. He would always have elvish blood, untainted and pure. And because of this, he would never quite fit in, he would always feel a little bit alone. A little bit like he could never really belong. A man stuck between two worlds. He would always hate himself for everything that he was and everything that he was not. He would always resent what he was. But he had Legolas.

His best friend and brother, the most beautiful of all the Eldar race, to remind him that being an Eliel is not really a bad thing. That it was all in his head, and that he was not alone. He may be different, but it was in the best way possible. He was special, he was one of a few to survive the millennia. Legolas was always there to remind him that there was nothing wrong with him. He was the only one Reinin had, he helped him keep pushing forward even when he didn't want to. Legolas always had his back and always snapped him out of it when things got to bad. And for that, he was eternally greatful that they had met that cold winter day that their whole lives had changed. He quickly cut that thought off before it could take control and get out of hand. He couldn't think about things like that.

Reinin let out a deep sigh as he flopped face first into bed, his pillow and blankets nearly swallowing him alive in their soft embrace. As he slipped off the edge of consciousness and into sleep, a single tear escaped his eye as he forced a smile into his pillow and shoved all of his self loathing out of his mind, once again the thought resounding in his head: no one likes a sad bar tender.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi again everybody! First of all, thanks to everyone who has been reading! All the views make me feel special! But come on people!? I would love to get some feedback on how I am doing! I need you guys to help keep me motivated to write! Anyways, once again our little disclaimer friend: All characters from the actual LOTR are not mine and I make no claim to them, they are Tolkien's work and he has definitely earned all credit for them. The rest of the characters are mine though so if you enjoy them, or even just cause you feel like it, give me some love and leave me a review or follow the story! TADA! And one, two, three – here we go!

**Chapter 3**

**It** amazed Reinin just how much could change in a week's time. Then again, it was almost always like this. Legolas would come to and be his normal happy self for a week or so before slipping back into being a little rain cloud of depression. It wasn't that Reinin minded, it just got repetitive and he hated that. That was part of why he always opened bars where ever they lived. And in bars, especially his that sat on the fine line between bar and club, you never know what to expect each night! Like their first Karaoke night last week.

He and Legolas had decided it may help business to start holding karaoke nights. And while they had been right, they had grievously underestimated the costs. Not to the bar, no sir, not to the bar at all. To their pride. Reinin sighed, but couldn't help but smile. Of course people had been excited to do karaoke, alcohol tends to bring out the side of people that thinks they are secretly a super star; but despite their intoxication, no one had wanted to go first and so he and Legolas had, with great regret now, taken the stage. Oh god that had been a disaster, he chuckled quietly to himself.

While he occasionally listened to new age music, after all, he had to know what was going to keep things moving in the bar, he and Legolas both preferred something a little more, well, old school. So old school that it bordered on the line of ancient. So when the guy running the karaoke threw on Sir Mix a Lot's "Baby Got Back" neither of them had really known what to do with themselves. Luckily for Legolas who was too embarrassed to even move, Reinin had saved the day by making the entire thing so outlandishly ridiculous and sexual everyone would assume the whole thing was a joke and they had never intended to actually sing. Honestly, Reinin considered it a bit of a shining moment in his life, despite the blow to his ego. Although the catcalling audience may have had something to do with that. Him getting up on Legolas totally went over well with the ladies, but he already knew that. It was like his hail mary. He laughed to himself again at the thought. While he had tried to move past the fact that he had sexually harassed his best friend way more than ever before in their millennia together, in public and on a stage no less, Legolas still got on his case from time to time about how, while twerking on him had been just fine, dry humping his leg had been pushing things a little too far. How that made sense to Legolas Reinin would never know. He didn't understand his friend's thought process sometimes.

Reinin loved running the bar. Even more so when he actually had Legolas by his side like he had that night. But instead, tonight it was just him tending the bar and trying to keep things from getting too rowdy, while Legolas once again fixed his never ending zoned out stare on a patch of wall. At this point he might as well marry it, Reinin thought to himself, he spends more time looking at it than any of the girls here.

While Legolas may not care for the crowds that usually gather here, one girl in particular had caught Reinin's eye over the weekend. The curvy young woman with a spray of freckles on her face that was holding a staring match with him at the moment. Kat. A small girl with ginger hair that he had tried to kick out of the bar for being underage. Turns out she was 23 and pissed that he thought she wasn't even 21 or, at the very least, 18. She had really been something else. Feisty and devious, all four feet and eleven inches of her. She had even tried to throw him out of his own bar, yelling something about how, if she didn't look old enough to be there, he sure as hell didn't look old enough to own a bar. She had been back every night ever since. Was she cute? Yeah, sure. But that had nothing to do with why he was so fascinated by her. She was different than normal mortals. She didn't breach the five foot mark in height… the only tell tale sign left of dwarvish descent. Too tall to be an Elidwa, but too short to be of the race of men. This new girl who had wandered into their bar, who kept watching him with those bright, apple green eyes, was a Semidwa. She was part middle earthen. The first one of the world they had known to find their way to the Old Oak. Now the question became…did she know what she was?

Reinin had become so focused on watching Kat, on trying to figure out if she could possibly know what she was, what _he_ was, that he hadn't even noticed the two girls arguing over whether or not the one would go talk to Legolas or not. He hadn't noticed her walk across the room towards Legolas. He hadn't noticed her at all until she reached a hand out towards him, but by the time he had seen her and jumped the length of the bar in a single, desperate bound to keep her from touching Legolas and setting him off, it was too late. Reinin took a deep breath and tried to resist the urge to scream "nooooooo" at the top of his lungs. She had gotten to him first, and now there was nothing he could do but wait for things to start breaking.

**Legolas** was lulled out of the swirling storm of his thoughts, his eyes widening in surprise. This wasn't the usual forceful yanking from his thoughts; it was more like he was being awakened for the first time, something about it felt familiar and safe, like he was being called home at last. Something soft was gently tugging on the tip of his pointed elf ear and he couldn't ignore the tightness growing in his jeans. He looked to the tugging to find a girl and a blush spread across his face at the arousal he was feeling. She couldn't possibly know that elf ears are particularly sensitive, not to mention highly involved with sexual arousal in the elven race. He felt guilt start in his stomach for what he was experiencing without her knowledge or consent and a wave of embarrassment cascaded over him.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, genuinely confused and even mildly concerned by the situation unfolding before his eyes. A soft smile formed on her face as her cheeks turned a shade of pink he couldn't quite name, a shade that looked beyond words and description. An absolutely beautiful pink he wished he could find a name for, that he could capture the essence of. Her eyes that seemed to be filled with liquid silver smiled at him. "You too, huh?" she asked quietly with a tinkle of a laugh not far behind; as she tugged his ear once more. Legolas was dumbfounded. He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face, his jaw hanging slightly agape. "You're ears are pointed," she clarified.

Legolas felt the blood rush back to his face tenfold as he began to turn scarlet and leaned just out of her reach, suddenly aware that this should have been the first thing he had done, "Uh, yeah. Pointed ears. A little weird, but I mean, I don't mind. Ya know?" He mumbled out, stuttering a little with each word, taken back by this girl who had sent his stomach a flutter, a feeling he had never felt before. What is this, he thought to himself looking anywhere but at the girl who was causing his body to act out like this. "Genetics and what not," his voice coming out a shy whisper instead of echoing his usual confidence. He was quickly becoming flustered at his sudden inability to talk, to think, to feel anything but the heat in his face and his ears. What is this? He thought again, feeling more panicked now that it hadn't gone away. What is wrong with me? What has she done? With every thought he felt more and more nervous, confused. But he couldn't help but like the insanity that was going on in his body, he had never felt this before, it was so new. So different. And after millennia of life, anything new was the most wonderful thing. To experience anything new was special and incredible — the ultimate.

She smiled again and he couldn't help but glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Her smile reached her eyes and brought a new life to her already attractive face. He looked away quickly before daring another look. Her clothes were baggy, hanging almost expertly off her lean frame. Too big sweater hanging slightly off one shoulder to reveal a band t-shirt underneath, baggy skater pants, a look that didn't quite fit in with the type of people they usually got in the bar. Her short hair peeked out from under a black beanie that looked almost too big for her head and hung low past her ears. It was a style that reminded him almost of Reinin's hair just a little longer, and there was one huge difference. Her hair was white. Ghost white. Snow. Even fairer than her skin. He hadn't seen anyone with hair like that since…

His thoughts cut off and he focused in on her eyes. The silver gray that looked back at him was flecked with a golden color that seemed to give off its own light and radiance. The light of the Eldar. It was only then that he recalled what she had said earlier, "you said 'you too'," the words sounded so strange, like he hadn't heard his own voice in years. "What?" she asked cocking her head to the side in confusion. "Just a minute ago you said "you too", about my ears. Are yours the same way?" He felt his heart stop in his chest as he waited for her reply, but it didn't come. Her face turned that indescribable pink that he wished he could see stare at until he found its name and she looked away from him, hiding her silver eyes behind her eyelids. "Yeah I got the short end of the genetics stick too. Genetic defect," she said, letting out a sigh. "But like you said, it's weird, but I don't mind. It is what it is. It doesn't really affect my life or anything; they're just a little oddly shaped. Elf ears," she chirped, her smile once again returning to her face.

A warmth spread through Legolas that seemed to just fill him up, like there was a little light inside of him lighting him up and making him warm from the inside out. It was as if the rest of the world had become irrelevant. It didn't matter that two guys across the bar were about to get into a fight or that Reinin had yet to try and come to his rescue; it was like they were on their own wave length, even if just for a moment. She knew about elves. More than that – she had called them 'elf ears'. The white hair, the ears, the light of the eldar; she was an elf. She had to be. He was certain of it. But does she know? The thought kept running through his head as the moment seemed to stretch on. She had called their ears a genetic defect, which is what people who don't know about Middle Earth considered them, just like "dwarfism". But he had blamed them on genetics first so maybe she knew but thought that he didn't. She had come over tugging on his ears; ears that would react just like hers would if someone did that to her, she had to know she was an elf. Even if it didn't entirely make sense, Legolas was sure that she knew what she was. What they were. She had to. By the gentle slope of her face, the pointed chin, the soft cheeks, the skin smooth as porcelain she wasn't even a semieil. No, she was definitely pure blooded, an eliel. And the eliel were the only elves that collectively as a group knew their true heritage. All eliel's knew they were elves; it was part of passing on their history. If she was an eliel, and she most definitely was, she knew exactly what she was.

Legolas felt like his heart was going to burst from excitement. "Yes!" he almost cheered the word, nodding excitedly, "elf ears, exactly!" He caught her off guard as he threw his arms around her in a hug, his breath hitching as their chests pressed against each other. In that moment he understood. Their hearts pressed against each other, beating so close, he knew why she had been making his body turn against him. He understood what this knew feeling was. This was love. After all these years he had finally found it, in this girl whose name he did not even know. She was why the Valar had kept him alive. Why now, after all these years? He wondered to himself as he stepped away from her, too embarrassed and nervous by his revelation to meet her gaze, a blush once again turning his face red hot. Why you? Who are you? Where did you come from? Do you know of more people like us? A million questions raced through his mind as he attempted to avoid the most important question weighing there, afraid of what the answer might be: If I love her…could she, maybe, love me too?

**Reinin** watched wide eyed as the girl with the beanie talked to Legolas. What had just happened? Reinin had never seen anything like it before. She had touched him while he was zoning and he hadn't completely lost his mind. He just came out of it. That wasn't a thing; that just didn't happen, not ever! He always freaked out, even if Reinin touched him. Maybe he had seen wrong. But he couldn't have, he was two inches from them, just out of arms reach. He had expected destruction when he had failed to keep her away from Legolas, but this…this may be far worse.

He sat at the far end of the bar from where they were and watched. He couldn't help but feel like a creep, borderline stalker-ish even, but he had to be ready in case anything happened. Heaven forbid he look away for two minutes to turn back around and find Legolas had killed the poor girl! Or her have killed him! He didn't know what to expect and so, he was prepared for anything.

Why do they keep smiling so much…and what the heck is wrong with his face? Why's he getting all red, is he sick? Maybe he she gave him a disease. But how? Maybe she breathed on him. Can you spread a deadly virus that way? Reinin's inner commentary was running full speed and on the edge of hysteria as he watched their interaction with each other. He was sure that at any second this whole thing was going to go up like a funeral pyre and he was intent on not letting his bar get involved in that mess. He grimaced as Legolas hugged her. A complete stranger and he's hugging her, Reinin thought as he rolled his eyes. For all he knows she could be trying to kill him! Highly unlikely, his thoughts returning to a slightly more rational state, but still possible.

"Hey I need a drink," a voice called from beside him. "Yeah, well right not so do I," he snapped back, never taking his eyes of Legolas. The stress this guy causes me may very well be the death of me, his thoughts running a little wild yet again. "Surviving Orc attacks, and the War of the Ring, and that friggin Pangaea crap just to die because of that royal pain in my ass," he grumbled to himself. "Are you gonna make me throw you out again, cause I swear to God if that's what a lady has to do to get a drink around here I will," the voice came again. Now she had his attention.

Reinin swiveled in his seat, casting one last glance towards Legolas and the potential threat/victim he was with. "What would you like Kat," he said forcing a smile, his current Russian accent earning him an amused look from her. "I'm feeling girlie. Vodka cranberry…hold the cranberry," she mused with a wink. He smirked as he prepared her order, biting his tongue all the while. The last thing he needed was to set her off. In the few days since she started frequenting the bar she had been involved in or started at least three fights and he didn't need another one, especially not one that involved him. "Here," he nodded as he handed her the glass, "on the house for 'good behavior'," he said sarcastically as he made air quotes with his hands. "What can I say, we Irish girls are just the best behaved girls you'll ever meet. Perfect ladies," she said with a mischievous wink as she walked back towards the dance floor to the pair of guys she had already almost created a fight between just moments ago.

"I take it back," Reinin muttered to himself, "_she _may be the death of me." He smacked his head against the bar and let it rest there for a moment as he let out an exasperated sigh. He looked to Legolas to find him and Future Dead Meat gone. Tonight was really not his night.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** A huge thank you to everyone who decided to follow this story after last chapter, I'm not even going to pretend that it didn't have me on cloud nine! I would give you all hugs if I could but, since I can't, maybe this new chapter will do instead! I am going to try and get new chapters out within 10 days of each other (hopefulllyyy I can make that happen). However, the more love you guys give me in follows/reviews, the faster I will try and get chapters out. Okay? Okay! As always, Legolas and any characters, settings, ideas, etc. from the actual LOTR are not mine, though I may wish they were. They are Tolkien's incredible work and he deserves all credit and more for them. The rest of the characters, however, are mine. But if you like them, feel free to let me know or to follow along with the story! Thanks guys! Enjoy! 3

**Chapter 4**

**It** was the dead of winter, snow falling, the creek just up the road from the Old Oak clogged with ice and struggling to trickle its way down the slope of the hill that their, by all outside appearances, quaint little pub sat on. It couldn't have been more than 45 degrees outside, 50 at most. And yet, Legolas was sitting on a curb outside trying to pretend that he wasn't slightly worried that his ass would never regain feeling. It had gone numb hours ago from sitting on the cold concrete, but he was doing his best to pay it no mind. All he wanted to think about was the girl sitting beside him, staring at the stars with eyes that seemed to want to count each and every one.

He would gladly give up his life to become one of those stars if it meant she would give him one brief moment of her undivided attention while she counted him. He knew how ridiculous it would sound if he told anyone, especially Reinin, but he was falling for her more and more with each passing second. He was in love, falling and falling, but as long as it was for her he wouldn't mind falling for the rest of his eternity. She made everything seem okay, seem right. She filled that empty place in him, the one that he had always hated feeling. And honestly, he had never realized just how big that empty place had been until now. He wanted her to never leave his side. There was only one problem…

"Will you please tell me your name now," he asked her once again, his head lolling to the side to face her. It had been hours of talking and teasing and laughs that never seemed to end, but she refused to tell him her name.

"Why does it matter so much," she said, turning her attention back to him and his stomach began to flutter once more. She had this way of making him feel like a little kid. He was a grown man who had been alive for millennia and yet, she made him feel like a teenager who finally realizes that girls are beautiful and not cootie ridden. "'Cause I'd like to know what name to call you when I beg for mercy for doing this," he chuckled, his words coming out in a rush as he grabbed the too big beanie off her head and rolled over backwards to his feet, stepping just out of reach. "Hey!" She called after him, picking herself off the concrete and cupping the tips of her ears with her hands. As she chased him down the sidewalk and towards the city lights Legolas couldn't help but laugh. He felt fully alive at last.

He dared a glance over his shoulder to find that the powder white mess of hair had disappeared from view. Panic began to flood his system. "Hello," he hollered into the night. If anything had happened to her he would never forgive himself. "Where did you go," he asked to the emptiness around him. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath as he began running back the way he had come, "this is why I need to know your name, so I can call for you, so I can find you." As he passed by a tree he caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late. She slammed into his side, nearly knocking him off his feet, as she grabbed for her hat. "Oh no you don't," he chuckled holding fast to the soft fabric in his hand.

"I swear to God I'll bite you," she said through teeth clenched in the effort of her struggle. "No you won't," he smiled in reply. She was strong, eliel strong, but he was stronger, and he wasn't going to give up. She looked up at him before placing her mouth around the flesh of his hand, a whisper of a kiss on his skin. "Still think I won't," she threatened once again, words muffled by his hand. He cocked an eye brow at her in amusement, trying not to laugh. As her teeth bit down he jumped back, releasing the hat. "You bit me!" All amusement slipped from his face, leaving only shock. She had actually bitten him. He had called a bluff that wasn't there. She had more guts than he had thought. No other girl would ever have done that to him; they were too busy trying to impress him. A huge grin graced his face as she pulled her beanie low past her ears once more. There was no denying it, she was something else.

A blush flared across her cheeks, "maybe we should get back, we've been out here a long time. I wouldn't doubt if everyone else at the bar has gone home already, our friends included, and they've closed the place down for the night. Legolas opened his mouth before biting his tongue. He figured the fact that he owned the bar might do better to remain his little secret, at least for the moment. "You're probably right," he said, trying to keep a mischievous smile from making its way to his face.

As they walked up the sidewalk, Legolas couldn't help but steal glances at her; the corners of his mouth hitching up in a smile when he realized she was doing the same. Maybe I have a chance with this girl after all, he thought to himself, daring to hope that this white haired girl with the silver eyes might actually be falling for him too. He focused on her with his peripheral vision, purposely glancing at her when tried to sneak a look at him. Her body made a small, surprised jump as she quickly looked away, her embarrassment at being caught painting itself on her cheeks in that delicious pink just for him.

When they got to the bar the door was, as she had predicted, locked and the lights were out. Legolas frowned, his lips almost pouting. It was unlike Reinin to lock up when he knew Legolas was out. This usually only happened when Reinin got mad at him and, with that thought, Legolas had to face the reality that maybe Reinin was kind of upset with him. He had every right to be. He had disappeared and ditched him with not only running the bar, but cleaning and locking up, not to mention any unruly customers that may have been there that night – they had been having a lot of those lately for some reason. Legolas sighed, he was having such a great night, the last thing he wanted was to walk into a fight with Reinin, but come what may, it would be worth it.

"Any way you can call me a cab," her voice ringing like music, "I don' really want to walk home alone and I kinda left my cell phone in my jacket which is….kinda inside." Her pink cheeks turned even darker and he felt a blush rise to his own at the sight. "Um, yeah, just let me grab my phone," he said, unlocking the door to the bar and closing it behind him. She stared at him through the small arched window in the door, jaw slightly parted and eyes wide. "Wait…what?" she choked out through her confusion as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Legolas handed her her coat and picked his cell phone up off the counter, pretending to dial.

She snatched the phone from his hand and shove him playfully, a full on grin on her face. "You have a key? What is that about, do you work here or are friends with the guy who owns it or what? What's that about?" she asked again. "I'll only tell you if you tell me your name," Legolas smirked. "It's embarrassing," she said placing his phone back in his hand, her fingers brushing his sending a warmth throughout his body. "It can't be any worse than mine," he replied, watching his fingers trail over her thumb, her hand still resting on the cool metal of the phone. She took a few steps back and began walking around the bar, her hand running lovingly over the tables and chairs. "My name is Mythrilyn. It's from the word Mythril. Like the metal," she clarified. "My parents like to say that they chose it because they were really into _Lord of the Rings_. That and, you know, white hair at birth. The name kind of suited the color scheme I guess. But Middle Earth was practically my childhood," she whispered, suddenly shy.

Now Legolas was starting to get confused. She knew…didn't she? He wondered to himself, trying to solve the puzzle she had just created for him. Was she pretending because she thought he didn't know? Maybe she really didn't know. But he had been so sure that she had.

"What about you? You said yours was worse…beat that." The words may have been a challenge, but it was one she obviously expected him to fail. She still wouldn't look at him and he could tell that her name was obviously a sore spot for her. All he wanted was to see that smile again. "I still have you beat," he said as he silently crossed the room to her. "My name is Legolas," he whispered, as he came to stand beside her. The room was so quiet without the normal laughter and music that the moment seemed to stretch on forever. She turned to face him and he was surprised to see a grin on her face from ear to ear. "Get out of here, you're lying," she said playfully shoving him once more. "Dead serious," he replied, her infectious smile causing one to bloom on his lips. Her laughter bubbled out of her like a fountain, happy and lively. "I guess we really are in the same boat, huh? You know something, you kind of look like him too. You even do your hair the same way," she giggled as she tugged on one of his warrior braids.

Their eyes met, a silver moon reflecting in the midnight blue star field. And just like that they were alone together in their secret place, on their own wavelength that no one else knew about. He wondered how long she would let him stare into her eyes like this before getting creeped out. He hoped forever, he wanted to get lost in her eyes and just spend the rest of the night with her, right here in the middle of the bar. He would do anything to keep her from leaving his side for a second.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a knock on the window jolted them both back to reality. "Yo, Rilyn. Are you in there? And don't even think about lying to me, 'cause I saw you go in." Mythrilyn bit her bottom lip as she stared at the door. "I should go, she won't be happy if I keep her waiting much longer. Although I'm kinda surprised she even stuck around this long," she chirped, a small laugh chasing her words.

"Rilyn?" Legolas asked as he walked her to the door. She looked up at him and smiled and his stomach began the maddeningly wonderful butterfly assault again. Honestly, he was starting to really like the feeling. She nodded, "yeah I prefer to go by Rilyn. It's shorter, plus not so dorky sounding. No matter how you look at it Mythril is kind of a nerdy thing to be named after. It saves me a lot of grief to just go with Rilyn," she said with a shrug. "I think it's beautiful either way," Legolas whispered to her as he opened the door, one last little secret between the two of them.

The door swung open to reveal a young woman leaning against the door frame. She was short but thin with long deep brown curls that made her golden cat eyes almost glow against her bronze complexion. The quizzical look she gave Legolas as she took Rilyn's hand made Legolas feel uneasy, as if she were silently evaluating and judging him with those eyes. "Come on Rilyn, let's go home," she said as she started to walk down the street, a reluctant Rilyn in tow. Legolas sighed as he moved to close the door, but stopped when he heard his name.

"Legolas!" Rilyn called behind her as she half dragged her friend back towards the bar. "You never did tell me about the key," she yelled, the corners of her mouth turned up in the ghost of a smile. "I will," he called back, not even bothering to hide the smile that was making his face hurt. "Next Friday night. Meet me here. I'll tell you anything you want to know. After all, you did tell me your big secret," he said with a wink. She gave him one last smile before allowing herself to be dragged down the hill towards town. And with that…she was gone.

**As** he walked up the hidden stair case to the apartment Legolas was agonizingly aware of the emptiness that had returned. Rilyn had left, and he suddenly felt like he was more alone than ever. The hole inside of him seemed miles wide. He stopped just before the last stair and leaned against the wall. The cold of the brick felt good against his face, still warm from the blood she had kept bringing to his cheeks. Legolas sighed as he imagined her face, her soft smile gracing her lips. He thought of her laugh, the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Better than monks chanting, or a million ocean waves; even better than the music he had loved so much in Middle Earth. "I know it's stupid," he whispered into the darkness of the stairwell, "but I miss you."

He let out one more sigh before unlocking the apartment door. Please, please, please don't let him hear me, he prayed silently as he moved with stealth that only an elf could achieve. Just as the door offered him just enough room to sneak through the lights flipped on, flooding his vision with an intensity he had become unaccustomed to since leaving the bar earlier that night. Legolas hung his head, he should have known better, Reinin was worse than his father had ever been about catching him when he had done something he 'wasn't supposed to'.

"Where the hell did you go man?" Reinin yelled as he got up from the kitchen counter. "I really needed you tonight. Did you know we had three different fights tonight?" Reinin questioned. As Legolas opened his mouth to respond he was cut off before the words even had a chance to hit his lips. "Of course you didn't! Because you were God knows where with that chick. Dude, she could have killed you! I don't know her, you don't know her. If anything had happened to you, you know I couldn't forgive myself. Just because the rein of the elves is over, it doesn't mean that I don't still consider you my prince. I can't protect you if you just take off like that on me, you asshole!" Legolas' breath hitched in his throat as Reinin's face came into view under the lights. His left eye was swollen shut, watering and purple. His lip was caked with dry blood in the corner. He was so disheveled he looked like he had been tossed through a dryer on high speed, or you know, gotten into a fight with an orc.

Legolas couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. "What happened to you," he asked, his concern causing his instincts to kick in and turn his usual English into Sindarin, like hitting the reset button on a toy. "Don't change the subject…or the language," Reinin said gruffly, his usually silky voice had become hard with anger, a hint of some unnamed cross between accents touching his English. "This is about you, not me. One: You know I don't like it when you just take off like that. 2: This happened because you bailed on me and left me to deal with three different fights on my own, although I would like to point out that the other guy looks a helluva lot worse so I consider it a win – point me," Reinin's words came out in a steady stream and Legolas couldn't help but smile, even when he was mad or hurt Reinin always went for the laugh. "And three: bro's before hoes man."

Legolas felt his smile drop. He felt angry. More than angry, he wanted to punch Reinin in his good eye. Had he really just called Rilyn a whore? Legolas took a shaky breath as he tried to keep his emotions in check. It was so unlike him to get this worked up over anything, especially 'bro's before hoes'. The two had picked the saying up years ago and had used it often, but it had never made Legolas feel so personally insulted before. He couldn't believe that he was feeling this way and, as much as he knew he loved her, over a girl he just met. Yes, he loved her, he wanted nothing more than to be with her right now, but Reinin was like a brother to him. He was his best friend. He forced himself to bite his tongue, the pain a reminder to watch what he said next.

"One," he said, his voice shaking, "I'm sorry I took off like that. I shouldn't have left you alone running the bar. I've been doing that a lot lately and if I was gonna be in my own head I should have been helping to make up for the time when I'm not all there." So far so good, he thought to himself as Reinin nodded quietly. "Two," he whispered as he licked his lips, his nerves starting to get to him, "I owe you big time for taking a beating. Whatever you want Rein, you can beat the shit out of me for all I care. There's no excuse for me not having your back tonight. I'm your best friend and I'm supposed to back you up in a fight. So I owe you one." Reinin frowned, "One and a half douche bag. This guy messed up my pretty face," he joked, his sassy attitude returning. "How am supposed to please the ladies with my face like this? Or you for that matter," he said with a wink of his good eye that turned out looking more like a blink with his other eye swollen shut. Legolas burst into laughter as he clapped Reinin on the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "I hate to break it to you man, but you can't please me even with your 'pretty face'," he chuckled as he took a step back, a grin from ear to ear on both of their faces.

"Okay, so there's one and two," Reinin edged, "now what about three?" Legolas tried not to let his smile falter; he knew it couldn't be that easy. Of course he was going to have to respond to three. "Three," he replied, his nerves acting up once again, " You're my brother and I will always do my best to put you first…except for maybe this Friday when I invited her over," he said spitting the words out like hot coals. Legolas stared at the floor, trying to avoid the 'I hate your fucking guts' look that Reinin was no doubt giving him. "Remember when you said I could beat the shit out of you," Reinin asked. Legolas took a deep breath, "uhuh." Reinin forced his way into Legolas' field of vision. "If you don't get your ass to your room right now, I will beat the shit out of your sorry ass. And then even the guy who messed up my face is going to look better than you," Reinin whispered in a tone that made Legolas' blood run cold.

As he shut his bedroom door behind him, Legolas felt like a mess. Was he really about to mess up his relationship with his best friend in the whole world over a girl he had just met? A girl that, for all he knew, didn't even feel that same way about him. Would Reinin still be mad in the morning? Reinin was the nicest guy in the world, as long as you didn't make an enemy out of him. If Reinin had it out for you he would make your life miserable. Usually in prank form, but occasionally with violence. Legolas had seen the outcome of that a few times and it was never pretty. During the Middle Earth era he would kill the people that he who made an enemy of him, nowadays, since they were trying to lay low, he figured just beating them to a pulp was close enough. Reinin had been a whole different person during the time of Middle Earth. Ruthless. Dangerous. He had learned to control that so much better now, but it had been a long journey to get to this point and occasionally he did still lose that control, but for the most part the guy was a saint. He didn't want to lose him.

As Legolas flopped onto his bed he kept replaying their conversation in his head. He kept coming back to one thing: for thinking of me as his prince he sure has no trouble bossing me around. He smiled at the thought. That was Reinin for you. Best friend, brother, advisor, gentleman, badass, and borderline parent. With any luck, come morning, all will be forgiven, he thought to himself as he shut his eyes and pictured Rilyn's snow fall of hair and the pink of her cheeks as she blushed. He tried and tried to find the right name for that color. Over and over he imagined it until, finally, he was asleep and all was quiet in his head. Just a sea of nothingness and peace in his unconsciousness.

**Reinin** sank down into the couch, a bottle of vodka in his hand. He usually tried to avoid the stronger drinks, but tonight he didn't care. What the hell was happening? He felt bad for yelling at Legolas but he knew he had deserved it. Reinin had spent all night freaking out about what might happen between Legolas and Beanie Girl. He had thought that maybe one of them might hurt the other. At first he had just been worried about one of them killing the other but then it hit him that things could wind up much worse than that. At least one of them stabbing each other or something would be quick. What had concerned him the most, once he recognized it as a possibility, was that maybe Legolas would fall in love with her. What if he did? What if they bonded and she didn't care about him? What if she left him? Or worse, she was a mortal. What would happen if she loved him back and they lived out her days together? Eventually she would die and Legolas would fade into nothing. He would die slowly and the thought of having to watch his best friend deteriorate out of grief was just too much. No way, Reinin thought shaking his head as he took another gulp of the burning liquid. He couldn't watch Legolas suffer like that.

Reinin sighed as he clutched the bottle to his chest, cuddling it like a teddy bear. What was he going to do?

**Rilyn** laughed as Rina explained her hectic night trying to find where she and Legolas had taken off too. "I swear," she called from the bathroom, "I started climbing tree's and everything looking for you. You know how hard that is for me." At roughly four foot nine it really was quite a sight to watch Rina try and climb a tree. It looked like something out of a comic strip; struggled to get two feet up to slip back down by an entire foot. "So?" She asked, leaning against the bathroom door. "Glad I dragged you out tonight?" Rilyn couldn't hold back the smile already creeping to her face. "Okay yes," she giggled out, "it was completely worth going." It may have only been because she lost a bet with Rina, but going to the Old Oak had been the best night of her life. She had met Legolas. Someone that seemed to not care that she looked a little different or that she was shy. He had been willing to take the time to get her to open up, granted that had also been because of Rina.

**Rilyn** had lost a bet to Rina at work a few months earlier and so she had, rather unhappily, gotten dressed that night. Rina had picked her up just before eight and they were at the bar before nine. After hours of staring at the man with flawless ivory skin and the pale locks partially braided back Rina had made a bet with her once again and, again, she had lost. She couldn't help but feel like she recognized him. Like she knew him in a time long ago. She had gone up to him unsure of herself, of what she would say and what he would do. She had been so scared. Thinking back on it now she smiled, she had been scared that he wouldn't like her.

She never really cared about what others, except maybe Rina, thought about her. But she had wanted him to like her. Something about him just seemed so familiar. As she had gotten closer she felt less nervous, she knew he was something special. She had thought about turning back several times, but she just couldn't. She wanted to be near him. She had felt so silly, things like that only happened in movies. But she had kept moving anyways and the second her fingers brushed his pointed ears, ear just like hers, she knew this was where she needed to be. She wasn't nervous or scared at all anymore. She was supposed to meet him; for one reason or another he was going to be important in her life.

**She **smiled as she watched Rina unlace her boots. "Thank you for tonight Rina," she said quietly. And she really did mean it. Rina glanced up at her, shrugging her shoulders, "not a problem Rilyn. That's what I'm here for. So Mr. Blue Eyes…you going to see him again?" Rilyn's stomach flip flopped and ghost of a giggle found its way out of her lungs. "Oh come on," Rina prodded, "you know you're gonna go on Friday." Rilyn smiled softly. Yes, she thought to herself, she most definitely was going on Friday.

**A/N (Again):** So I am debating doing an accompanying one shot/ extra chapter that deals with these 'bets' and the mischief that happened there…any thoughts? Please and thank you guys! You are awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** First off a huge thank you to the people who followed and favorite-ed the story! I absolutely love you! Secondly, I know, I know, I broke the 10 days thing already, but in my defense I did not have access to a laptop/computer most of last week because I was on a family vacation. I apologize! Hopefully with time and therapy you all will learn to forgive me. I tried to make this one longer than usual to make up for it! Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, keep following/favoriting/reviewing (especially reviewing please! I could use some feedback!) if you so desire! I really do appreciate it. And who knows, maybe we can even make an agreement to give a sneak preview of a future chapter to someone if you do *hint hint, wink wink*. As always, Legolas and any ideas related to Middle Earth or Lord of the Rings belong to Tolkien, and all credit goes to him along with my greatest of thanks for having come up with them in the first place! Rilyn, Reinin, and any other non- LOTR characters, however, are mine so feel free to enjoy them and to follow along with their story if you like them/find them entertaining/or simply feel like stalking them in this story! And with that I present our next chapter! (Sorry, it focuses more on Reinin, well get back to Legolas and Rilyn next chapter!)

**Chapter 5:**

** Legolas **winced at the sunlight peeking in through his bedroom curtains. The night had come and gone and now he had to face whatever may be in store. He hadn't heard a peep from Reinin all night long which, given his natural, elvish-borderline-ninja skills, did not really surprise Legolas all that much. Reinin had always been quieter than most elves; it was part of what made him such a great prankster and partner in crime. Still, Legolas couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Please let him not hate me today," he quietly begged of the Valar. As long as Reinin did not still want to rip his head off, today might not be so bad.

Facing Reinin hadn't been the only fear on Legolas' mind. Now that he had met Rilyn he was feeling almost panicky about the thought of having to spend the day without her. Try as he might he couldn't get her off his mind. Was she thinking about him too? What was she doing right now? He was so curious as to what a day in her life might be like. There were so many things he hadn't gotten the chance to find out about her, and he wanted to know them all. "Snap out of it," he whispered under his breath, shaking his head, as if doing so might shake her from his thoughts. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the world around him. The warmth of the sunlight that had just assaulted his eyes, the smell of the spearmint plant growing on his windowsill, the whisper of life radiating from the ivy plant that was growing up the lattice work he had set up in the corner of his room. A breath in; one, two, three, he counted in his head focusing solely on the nature around him, clearing his mind before letting the breath out. A fleeting moment of peace, of home, before facing the day.

His nimble feet felt awkward as they first met the soft carpet of his room, pale ivory standing out against the deep brown. "How long have I been out?" he muttered as he walked to the door and tried the knob. He let out an exasperated sigh when the door didn't budge.

"Oh good, you're up," Reinin's voice came from the other side of the wooden door. "What did you do to my door Rein?" Legolas asked, already not sure that he wanted to know the answer. "Just a littl'superglue, nothing ye can't get yerself out of, I just figured I had t' at least make ya work for it," came the reply, the Scottish accent dripping with pride. Legolas had no words. He couldn't be mad at Reinin for sealing him in his room, he did deserve it after all, but he really didn't want to spend the next hour and a half breaking the glue and trying not to damage the door and its frame during the process. "Rein, please just let me out," he half way begged. "Well Leggy my boy, I would. But ya see, I purposely didn't buy any of the stuff that breaks the glue down so I wouldn't be tempted to let ya out of yer punishment. Plus maybe this will be good for you. Concentrating on the task at hand may keep you entertained for a while. Can't have ya getting' bored now can we?" He teased, obviously pleased with his handiwork. "Have fun Leggy," he chirped.

"Rein?" Legolas called through the door. "Reinin," he called once more to yet another bout of silence. "Fuck," Legolas muttered under his breath, slamming his forehead against the door. "Oww," he whimpered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It's either sit around and mope about it or get to work. As soon as the thought entered his head he knew exactly what he was going to do.

An hour later he sat on the floor, waterfall of golden locks pulled back and sweat pant clad. Beads of sweat had formed on his brow as he worked with surgical precision, the mythril dagger in his hand forcing the glue to give and break, bending it to his will. "Fuck you Reinin, I deserve a lot of shit for last night, but no one deserves this," he grumbled under his breath, adding to the stream of damnation and cursing he had been wishing upon his best friend turned scourge of the earth. "I would rather fight orcs than have to deal with this super glue crap! Hell, I would rather carry the ring to Mordor than have to fuck around with this super glue mess! Super glue is worse than The Witch King! Super glue is worse than my father! Fuck you Reinin, just fuck you. Fuck you and your Scottish accent. Fuck you and your damn cocky grin. Fuck yo –," the word stopping in his throat as the last bit of glue broke away from the door. A relieved smile worked its way onto his face. "Finally," he muttered as he picked himself up off the floor. As the door swung open he found Reinin sitting criss-cross right outside the door, waiting for him.

"Have you been there the whole time?" Legolas asked, suddenly feeling self conscious about his anti-Reinin ranting. "Reinin. I swear to the Valar I will fucking end you when I get out of here. You will wish we were still in the good for nothing Inquisition. I am gonna shove my boot so far up your ass you're gonna have to learn how to flirt with girls around it," Reinin said, cocking his eyebrow at him. "Oh, and my personal favorite! 'Super glue! Why super glue? You couldn't just have welded the thing shut? Or even better, you should have just killed me while I was sleeping. I would rather be dead…no, I would rather Gandalf had caught me and Aragorn using his staff to play limbo than have to spend another second breaking this stupid super glue apart.' Oh, and 'aaaahhhhhhhhhhh! I fucking hate super glue!' It 'as been quite an interestin' mornin' listening to ya," he chuckled.

Heat spread across Legolas' face and he refused to look at Reinin. He had been really pissed at him, but having him hear all the terrible things he had been saying about him left a bad taste in his mouth. "Listen Rein, I'm sorry. About everything I said today, about last night. I'm being a shitty friend lately. I'll do better, I promise," he said, offering Reinin his hand. Reinin continued to give him his cocky, amused grin. "Oh, shut up," Legolas said with a grin as he grabbed Reinin's hand and helped him up off the floor. "So Leggy," Reinin said casting a glance in Legolas' direction. "Hmm?" he replied, no longer nervous about the day. Reinin had punished him and he had carried out his sentence, by both of their books they were even. "Do you always do house work half naked? Cause if so, I may have to find things for you to do more often," he said, checking out Legolas' lean build with an over the top look fit for an elementary school theater production. Legolas bit his lip as he tried not to laugh at Reinin's over exaggerated look of 'appreciation'. "I don't think that qualifies as house work Rein," he said, a chuckle escaping his lips, "plus it think you forgot something. I'm pretty sure that sentence should have ended with a 'daayyyumm'". At that they both burst out laughing, the laughter bubbling out of his throat and filling the air, making their temporarily broken home whole once more. As he looked at Reinin's mostly healed face turning purple from laughter, he couldn't help but think that maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all. Thing's could only get better from here…nothing could be worse than the super glue.

**As** petty as it made him feel, Reinin was glad that he had done it. Super gluing Legolas' door shut may have been childish, but it was something he needed to do. He had to get even somehow. And honestly, he felt better now. He had spent a good hour that morning trying not to laugh and get found out as Legolas' yelled meaningless threats and curses about him in no less than seven different languages. Legolas had definitely earned major points for creativity today. He hadn't known about the Limbo incident. It kind of surprised Reinin that after all this time together, he was still finding new things out about Legolas. It was like the surprises never ended.

Reinin felt at peace as he watched Legolas in the kitchen making breakfast. He had to admit, he liked it when Legolas pulled his hair back. It made him look younger. It made him look more like the age he was at heart, it suited him. Reinin had been trying to get him to cut it for years, but he always refused. He was an eliel and proud of his heritage and Reinin doubted that he would ever give up his warrior braids. "So anything in particular you're craving for breakfast," Legolas called. It may be almost three in the afternoon, but for them their day was just getting started.

**Reinin** put the last dish in the dishwasher just as Legolas came back into their living room. Reinin felt a grimace tug at his mouth. "I think we need to find you something other than black t-shirts to wear," he said as he picked his key ring off the counter. "Just because we're bartenders doesn't mean we have to be completely void of any personality." Legolas smirked at him, his crystal eyes smiling, lighting up his face. "You of all people ought to know that black is sexy," he chuckled, giving Reinin a quick wink before disappearing down the staircase. Reinin couldn't help but grin as he followed, locking the door behind him. Girls really did seem to dig a guy wearing black, maybe Legolas was onto something with that one.

Stepping through the open door into the back hallway of the bar Reinin felt a warmth spread through him. This was his home. This was his baby. Of all the bars that the two of them had started, The Old Oak was his favorite.

The others had all been done simply to make money. They had never intended to stay with any of them for too long. They would build the company up; explore the city where they were living for a decade or so, learning the language, culture, accent and what not, before selling the bar to someone they trusted and moving on to another city. Often times another country. It was how they avoided being found out for what they were. Not to mention they both got restless and a change of scenery seemed to be the only cure. It was a cycle they had been following for centuries, they must have near fifty bars scattered around the globe by now. And once upon a time even more Taverns, when those were still a thing. That thought always made Reinin swell with pride. Even if something happened to him, he would have left his mark on this world, he would be leaving something amazing behind.

The Old Oak, however, was different. He and Legolas had both decided that it was time to stay in one place for a while. To really get to know one place, to make a real home. One that they didn't plan on leaving in the foreseeable future. And so, they had carefully crafted the Old Oak themselves. They had hand carved the wooden banisters, the chairs, everything that they could, with things that reminded them of home. Leaves climbing up towards the heavens, rivers and waterfalls. They even tried to capture the lighting and ambience of the caverns using lanterns. They had incorporated as much of Mirkwood into this place as was possible given the times that they lived in now. It had taken them years to create this place.

The bar itself was almost divided down the middle. The bar and table seating on one side; a pool table and a couple of booths lining the walls on the other, leaving the middle space open. The bar side had pictures on the walls of forests, a bow and arrow hanging right behind the bar, almost framed by the bottles of liquor. The open side was meant more for dancing and, Reinin hated to admit it, fighting. He had figured it was better to have a place for people to fight where their carefully crafted furniture wouldn't get smashed and their photo frames wouldn't get broken. The walls on that side of the bar had been painted with trees to look like you were standing in Mirkwood Forest. The ceiling, a midnight blue with swirls of gray, was lined with twinkle lights that gave the appearance of the night sky when you looked at it. The Old Oak was the closest that he and Legolas had to home. And he loved every inch of it. The hardwood floors, the not quite stained glass looking windows, everything.

**He** smiled as he walked to where Legolas was at the bar, opening the glass doors that kept the liquors on display and off limits when no one was there. "So, sticking around all night, or closing up early?" Legolas asked, casting a glance at Reinin. "Ummm, whatever you want to do,love" Reinin said, slipping into a British accent. He was still feeling a little uneasy about Beanie Girl. What if she showed up at the bar again? He had a lot of alcohol in his system last night and, while it was almost impossible for him to get drunk or even much of a buzz because of his elvish blood, he hadn't trusted himself to come up with a plan to keep her away from Legolas. He frowned every time he thought of her. No way is she gonna be the death of Legolas, he thought to himself as he started lighting the candles in the lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

By the time they had finally gotten things set up for the night and unlocked the doors Reinin was on edge. He could no longer ignore the mounting panic coursing through his system at the thought of Beanie Girl showing up. His stomach rolled and he felt his face flush. Screw Legolas, he thought to himself, she's gonna be the death of _me_. I have been having hat thought way too often lately, he thought with a frown. As the first few customers of the night walked in Reinin's heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

"Hey Reinin, you okay?" Legolas asked, pulling him from his worries. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, gluing a smile on his face. "Would you mind taking those guys? You've been slacking a lot lately and I feel lazy. Make yourself useful, slacker," he teased, but the words felt forced even as he said them. I gotta get my head on straight, the thought more a prayer than anything. "And to think I didn't think this night could get any worse," the words like whisky, tainting his breath as he watched the only other person in the world that he didn't want to see walk in.

Kat looked good, she always did. She kept herself very put together from what Reinin had seen of her at this point; a perfect mix between slutty and classy. Her ginger curls, more red than orange, were tossed up in a sloppy bun, the loose strands framing her face. "Why her?," he groaned, "anyone but he –," he said, slamming his teeth together before he could finish the sentence and jinx himself. By no means did he want Kat at the bar tonight, his face still wasn't a hundred percent after last night, but he would rather deal with Kat every night for the rest of his life than have to deal with the Beanie Situation.

As she sauntered in their eyes met, her vibrant green staring into his darker version. A smile sprung to her face and Reinin swallowed the feeling that hell on heels was heading his way as she approached the bar. "Hey there Cutie," she purred, just a trace of an Irish accent hanging onto her words. Reinin focused on the act of _not_ rolling his eyes at her. It took every ounce of self control that he had, but he managed to give her a lopsided smile instead. "Hi Kat. Anything I can get for you?" He muttered, not fully hiding his annoyance as he mimicked her accent. "Irish tonight are we?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Just a little. What would you like? And any answer that involves 'me' as what you want does not count," he chuckled, unable to shrug off his sense of duty as bar tender. Just because he didn't like her didn't mean he was allowed to be rude. It was his job to be nice to her and make her happy. Plus, he was pretty sure the only reason she caused problems was to get his attention and the thought itself was enough to make him grin. Girls did a lot of things to get his attention, and it was always amusing to watch, but to go out of her way and cause problems for other people? That was one no one had tried before. And that alone meant she was worth at least trying to be nice to. "Awh. Well that's no fun," she whined, pouting. "My apologies," Reinin said giving her a wink. He choked down a laugh when her cheeks flared almost as red as her hair. "Well then, just a beer," she said, leaning on her elbows as he turned to retrieve the drink.

"We should hang out one of these days. Somewhere that I won't cause trouble," the words slipping off her tongue as if she had practiced them hundreds of times in the mirror. He wouldn't doubt that she had. Reinin smiled amusedly, it was uncanny how much she reminded him of himself when he was trying to charm a woman. "Maybe one day sweetheart," he chuckled as he placed the bottle in her hand. "Let me guess. One day, but not tonight," she whispered slyly, leaning in towards him. Reinin took a step back away from the bar, away from this girl who he still could not quite figure out. "No. Not tonight. Probably not anytime soon," he replied, trying to shut her down before she got any ideas in her head. He was interested in Kat, just not in the way she wanted him to be. He didn't want her. He just wanted to figure her out. To maybe find a friend who knew of the world he had come from. To find someone who might be able to share in his and Legolas' adventures and longing. Someone who could relate to their plight. But the more he spoke to Kat the more sure he was becoming that she didn't know anything of their heritage and that she had completely different intentions in mind. "Try not to start any fights tonight, okay? My face is still sore from the last one," he smirked as he moved down the bar towards Legolas and away from the danger that was Katlynn.

**The** week seemed to pass in a blur of adrenaline and paranoia for Reinin. Each night he was so afraid of Beanie Girl showing up he almost couldn't breathe, only for the night to pass by without a hitch except for the now commonplace fights. It was amazing what that little red head could accomplish if she wore the right clothes and put her mind to it. Reinin lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and willing the sun to go back beyond the horizon so he wouldn't have to face the day. Yes, he and Legolas had been on good terms all week, but he had yet to tell him about Katlynn. Should he have come to the conclusion on his own by now? Most definitely! But with his mind on Beanie Girl all of the time, he hadn't even noticed her telling height.

Reinin growled at the part of his brain silently substituting Rilyn for Beanie Girl every time he thought the name. Legolas had been going on and on about her during the week. It was like he never shut up! Rilyn this, and Rilyn that. Rilyn, Rilyn, Rilyn! It was driving Reinin insane! And what was worse? He thinks he's in love with the girl! The thought made Reinin's stomach drop. He had only spent one evening with her and he was ready to bind himself to her. Reinin couldn't calm the overwhelming sense of loneliness and fear flooding his system. If Legolas did bind himself to her, what would happen to him? What would happen to Reinin? Reinin rolled over and screamed into his pillow. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing he had found so far that helped him deal with the frustration that had been killing him all week. It wasn't much, but it was a release. Sometimes that's all you have…a scream. When you feel like everything is out of your hands, out of your control, sometimes screaming is all you can do. And Reinin had been doing a lot of that lately. The soreness in the back of his throat was a testament to that. All week he had tried and tried to come up with some way to convince Legolas that seeing Rilyn was a bad idea. But try as he might, nothing had worked. Legolas was just too damn stubborn. And now it was too late. Tonight was the night. It was Friday, and Rilyn was going to come to the bar tonight to see Legolas.

Reinin screamed into his pillow once more. He had failed. Legolas was going to fall in love with this mortal, and he was going to lose his best friend forever.

And yet, the more Reinin thought about it, the more he was able to convince himself that there was no way Legolas was in love with her. It doesn't happen like that. Or did it? His lungs burned by the time he stopped screaming. Reinin sat up slowly, his whole body aching from the stress it was so unaccustomed to. He never got stressed out over anything; that just wasn't who he was. But somehow this chick had pretty much shattered everything that he was by becoming a threat to the life of the one person he cared about in this whole world. He threw his blanket off and watched it slowly fall to the floor, an emerald wave on an almost nonexistent breeze. He had to talk to Legolas one last time. He didn't care that it probably wouldn't work; every inch of his body was screaming at him to at least try. At least then he could say he gave it his all.

As he stormed across the house he kept trying to come up with something to say, anything that he hadn't already said that might change his mind. Through the living room and passed the kitchen, still nothing earth shattering came to his mind. Passing in front of the storage closet, the laundry machines against the opposite wall, still nothing. As he swung Legolas' door open, he took a deep breath and prepared himself to just start yelling and pray that the right thing came out. But when he actually opened his mouth to speak, his lungs failed him. What is happening, Reinin thought, his chest growing tight and his eyes burning with tears he refused to cry. He didn't yell. Instead he choked back a sob and hated himself inside for the words he now knew were coming.

"How do you know that you're in love with her?" he whispered, inaudible to the mortal ear. Legolas, who had been standing by the window turned towards him and away from the outside world, the sunlight catching the gold of his pale hair. "What do you mean," he asked softly, the Sindarin rolling off his tongue like a song. Reinin blinked away tears and groaned inwardly. Now on top of whatever else he was feeling that had him on the verge of a breakdown he was homesick. Of all the languages the two of them could speak in, Legolas had to choose Sindarin.

Reinin didn't like this new feeling one bit. He felt angry and confused. He hated Legolas. Something he had never felt for the man in front of him before. He hated everything about him. He hated the blue of his eyes that seemed to change; some days deep and endless, and other days the impenetrable blue of ice, others so vibrant they bordered on neon. He hated the waterfall of starlight that fell to his chest and hung part of the way in front of his face because it wasn't braided back. He hated the way he hunched his shoulders ever so slightly and the way his mouth almost always seemed to gift the world with just a hint of a smile. He hated him…and the only thing that distressed him more was that he hadn't a clue as to why.

"I mean," he started carefully, the familiarity of the Sindarin helping to calm his nerves, "how do you know that you are in love with her? You say that you are, but how do you know that? What makes her different than any other girl you've ever ignored? Than any other girl that's touched you while zoning that I had to keep you from killing. Why is she different? How do you know that she is the one?" Reinin felt sick to his stomach at the venom behind his words. Why was he so angry?

Legolas gave him a lopsided smile and sat down on the edge of his bed, the frame not even moving beneath the added weight, as if he were as light as a feather. The thought only made Reinin hate him more. Why should he get to be happy and free and light, while I feel like I'm being weighed down and trapped? Shoved into a cage because of these emotions that keep running wild. His thoughts were dark in a way that they hadn't been in centuries. He felt like the killer that he had once been. The monster that he had hated and despised and struggled so hard to bury away where he would never be found. "I know that I love her because of the way that she makes me feel," he said longingly. "As for why, I couldn't tell you if I tried. There is just something about her. I knew it the moment I saw her, and yet it took me a while to make sense of it. That probably doesn't make any sense, but I don't know how else to explain it," the lopsided grin still tugging at his lips. As much as Reinin was afraid to be near him because of the way he was feeling, he felt like he needed to be as close to him as possible. He sat on the edge of the bed beside Legolas and tried to focus on a piece of lint on the carpet so he wouldn't look at him. "You mean kind of how when you get wounded in battle you know it's happened, but it takes you a minute to feel it?" he grumbled, not wanting to know and yet unable to stop himself. Legolas laughed, and Reinin felt the corners of his mouth hitch up. Legolas had such an infectious laugh that he couldn't keep a smile from forming on his lips. "Yeah, sort of like that," he said with a chuckle that gave his Sindarin an almost poetic quality as he spoke. "So when you love somebody…you just know it? There's nothing you can do about it? It just is? You see them, you know, and you're screwed?" Reinin asked, his heartbeat jumping into overtime. "No. Not at all," Legolas began. "When you see them you do know and there is nothing you can do about it. But you aren't screwed. You don't want anyone else. You don't mind that there isn't anything you can do. You don't want to do anything about it. She makes my stomach tickle and she makes me feel happy. She makes me want to know everything about her and to be around her all the time. She makes me want to keep her safe and not let anything bad happen to her. She makes me feel alive and whole and like I'm home. Like nothing bad has ever happened to me. She just makes me feel so many different and new things. I love it. And yeah, I've only spent a few hours with her, but it's like every fiber of my being just knows that she is my one and only. She is the person I am supposed to be with. She is why I am still alive. I had to wade out the ages until I found her. And now that I have, it's like my life is starting over. It's like I'm beginning again and everything is right and new. That's how I know that I love her," his words rolling off his tongue with pure conviction.

Reinin swallowed hard. There was no chance he was going to ever change Legolas' mind. Hearing those words he knew that Legolas was right. He was in love with Rilyn. He had heard similar things from other elves during the Middle Earthen era, but never with such intensity. Reinin stood up and quietly walked out of the room, no longer angry; just sad. It was then that he realized what it was he had been feeling. He was jealous. He had always made fun of Legolas for being a hopeless romantic, but in all honesty, he wanted that. He wanted somebody to make him feel alive and to take the homesickness away. Reinin walked into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him, flopping onto his bed. He took a deep, shaky breath before screaming into his pillow again and letting the tears he had been holding back finally break past his defenses.

By the time he had cried himself out, Reinin was exhausted and emotionally drained. He had never been jealous before, and he hated it. Especially being jealous of Legolas. He took a deep breath as he focused on the small plant in the corner of the room and thought back to when they had been in Middle Earth. He thought of everything that made him and elf, especially the stoicism he had grown up with, as he tried to rein in his emotions. Most of all he thought back to the day he had long since tried to forget…

**A** younger Legolas stood beside him, both of them staring at the body. Long dark hair, and vacant green eyes, but other than that the body was a blur. He had blocked so much of this day from his memory that very little of the details remained. Legolas wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. The warmth radiating from him engulfing him like a blanket. "Don't worry Reinin," he whispered, trying to be brave for Reinin's sake, "We won't tell anyone. And no one will ever find out." Despite the warmth of Legolas' body, he felt cold. Had he really just killed _mmrrrnnnn? _The name itself had been one of the things Legolas had helped Reinin to erase from his memory of that day. It had been such a trigger for him that every time he heard or thought it, it just about killed him.

"If you really want to forget about this ever happening, you're going to have to lock it away," Legolas said quietly, leading him away from the broken and bloody corpse. Legolas would do anything to protect Reinin, to help him. Even from himself. He always had since the day that they met. "Imagine a box," Legolas said. "A box?" Reinin asked, feeling numb. "Yes. Imagine a box. And slowly put all of the feelings and thoughts that you don't want in it. After that bury it," he continued. "What do you mean bury it," Reinin felt more and more confused. "Imagine yourself burying it away, deep in the ground. So deep that no one will ever dig it back up. That's what I do. It's what my dad taught me. And nothing I have buried has ever bothered me again," he said matter of factly. Reinin closed his eyes and imagined the box. A plain cherry wood box and, piece by piece, he buried the grisly scene away where he hoped it would never see the light of day. Slowly all of the emotions began to ebb and fade away the deeper he shoved the box into the ground.

**Reinin **imagined his Bury Box. The smooth cherry wood the same as the day he first created it in his mind. The day he had kill—. He forced the thought to stop short. The last thing he needed was to accidentally let something out of the box while he had it out. He imagined all of the pain and jealousy and frustration he was feeling and shoved it into the box, locking it up and burying it once more. Almost instantly he felt all of the confusing feelings begin to seep out of his body as if he really had buried them in some secret place. "Thank you Legolas," he whispered under his breath as the ability to breathe returned to his lungs. "Okay. Let's see how this goes," he muttered to himself as he tossed a hoodie and jeans on before heading down to the bar to meet Legolas for the night he had been dreading all week. The beginning of the end of everything he loved, but if it would make Legolas happy then maybe, just maybe, Reinin could live with it. Even if it meant leaving his one companion so that he could be truly happy. Legolas would do anything for him...maybe it was time he returned the favor.


End file.
